Magic Valley Veterinary - Twin Falls

Three years after graduating from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988, Dr. Connie Rippel was ready to strike out on her own. Although she had spent three years working as an associate veterinarian at a Twin Falls veterinary hospital, she realized that experience alone wasn’t enough to sustain her when launching a successful business.

Therefore, Rippel turned to the Idaho Small Business Development Center at the College of Southern Idaho for guidance in opening and operating her own clinic. With the help of ISBDC staff, she soon determined that developing her own business would provide a greater opportunity than buying an existing practice.

The ISBDC staff helped Rippel create a business plan and financial package so she could apply for a start-up loan through West One Bank. She also relied on the ISBDC for help in filling out forms to register as a corporation and apply for employer identification and sales tax numbers. After learning basic bookkeeping methods, she was ready to open the doors of the Magic Valley Veterinary Hospital.

Since its inception in 1992, Dr. Rippel has continued to receive assistance from the ISBDC as she has increased her staff from four to 10 employees; she is now one of the leading veterinarians in the community. Her hospital actively supports the People For Pets Humane Society, and Rippel advocates the work of both Habitat for Humanity and the Nature Conservancy. All three veterinarians at the hospital promote veterinary medicine by giving presentations in local schools.

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